Pages

Thanksgiving & Literacy from One Writers Point of View

May your Thanksgiving tomorrow be happy, stress-free and full of wonderful moments shared with loved ones!

This year I’m thankful for my family, my friends and my readers. Writing is a bit like farming, in that you do your part without any guarantees. Just as a farmer ploughs, plants and weeds his fields but depends on the weather to reward him with a crop, a writer pours out her soul onto paper in the hopes her words will be read and enjoyed by other people. Sometimes it feels like I’m sending my words out into a vacuum.

When my debut novella, The Djinn's Dilemma, came out earlier this month I was decidedly nervous. Would anyone read my story? Did anyone even know I exist? The best part of being a published author has been receiving notes from my readers. Readers who not only took the time to read my story, but also to let me know what they thought. Thank you for letting me know my words are finding homes.

I'm also thankful for all the writers who wrote stories that comforted me when the chips were down or just helped me escape the daily grind. I remember laughing out loud as I read Three Singles to Adventure by Gerald Durell and how it helped me get over a highschool-heartbreak. And when my baby son --born 7 weeks early--spent 62 days in the hospital, I coped by reading The Time It Never Rained out loud to him. I didn't know if he'd make it or not, and I wanted to make sure I shared a damn good story with him.

So it saddens me to know there are many people in our world who will never know the comfort of a good book.

According to UNICEF, "Nearly a billion people will enter the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names and two thirds of them are women."

I'm thankful for my ability to read and my ability to do something about illiteracy. What are you thankful for? For each comment left between today and Nov. 27, 2011 I will donate $1 to UNICEF. All I ask in return is help spread the word. Thanks!

What a perfect way to celebrate Thanksgiving. In addition to donating toward literacy through good people like Mina, there is another easy way: Go to www.thehungersite.com and click on the Literacy tab at the top. All you do is click; sponsors donate the money. Better yet: make this your homepage when your browser opens so you think to do this every day. Takes seconds. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Great idea! Though it's going to cost you. ; ) For anyone who can, I also advocate volunteering with local literacy programs. I spend 2 hours one afternoon a week with a program for below-grade-level readers called STAIR (Start the Adventure in Reading.) Most cities have literacy councils with programs for adults, as well. Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you get lots of posts. It's hard to believe there are people out there unable to read, but there are. Reading a book can take you to another world. Loved your post. Good luck with you efforts. Happy Thanksgiving Mina!

Thanks all for visiting and helping me spread the word. Before a problem can be solved, one must be aware of it. And sometimes people just need a reminder and thanksgiving seemed the perfect time for this effort :)

And thanks for mentioning all the other great ways to help support literacy!

Thank you for your stories and your laughter, Mina. You are truly a lovely woman and an inspiration. Thank you for supporting such a wonderful cause. I am personally thankful for new beginnings and the will to embrace them.

hi miss rashda! cool post! for sure im sooo happy my mom read to me when i was just way little and im glad i can read so much good books. when i grow up and get married for sure im gonna read to my kids from when their just little. that literacy stuff is soooo important. its just so nice that youre gonna donate out a dollar for every post. i hope a zillion people do comments. ...smiles from lenny

My daughter informed me I am the ultimate nerd because I read and write in my spare time. I teach at my other job. I want other women to have their own chance at being nerdy. Great job on the blog and your book.

Parents may be in love of their child giving them such offers but it may be put on child’s mind that if they will get or have something good in their life by their hard work so that they will also demand something for it from their parents.explore more

Thank you so much for helping me raise awareness about UNICEF and its literacy work! Appreciate your support...so, counting the # of comments, the # of people who contacted me to say they couldn't leave a comment & the base amount I'd decided to donate...$150! Woot!

Wow. What a wonderful idea. I'm sorry I didn't log in sooner. If I can get a full time job that pays more than I'm currently making (and am unable to make a living with), I will definitely do this. Who knows? Maybe we can make it a blogfest. ;D So many of society's ills could be cured with education....

Many thanks for opening my eyes about this topic. this is very helpful for finishing my article . hopefully i can reguler visit here to read another wonderful post, I really enjoyed reading your post and learning about what you had to offer here. You're a pretty skilled blog writer. Keep up the great work mate. largest media agencies

A writer must be aware of original report, business plan or proposal before writing executive summary. He must be clear about the main issue on which focus is needed to be required in executive summary. You can check it click to read with the help of native writer.

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Join my quarterly newsletter to receive exclusive updates of my new releases and background information on stories that won't be posted online for at least six months! Only I have access to your email and I promise not to spam you!